The Loft
by Archived-AndInactive
Summary: Essentially the story of RENT from the perspective of the loft.  Re-posted due to a mysterious disappearance.


**For reasons unknown to me, this story that I wrote ages ago suddenly disappeared. So, I figured I'd repost it on my new account here. Enjoy!**

It begins with two.

Roger and Mark are friends in high school, but split up when Mark's parents stuff him into a pretentious college and Roger moves to Alphabet City with his band. Mark lasts about three months before having an epiphany; he doesn't have to do what his parents want.

His kind-hearted roommate Benny helps him realize this.

It's one favor he never forgets.

So, Mark packs his bags and heads off in the general direction of New York.

Roger runs into a dead-end. He joins a couple of bands, but they quickly fall apart. He works at a bar for a while, then a restaurant, then a child care center (for about an hour) before giving up on work and collapsing on a street corner strumming the only song he can remember with his guitar case open.

Which is exactly where Mark finds him.

Neither of them has much money, but together they figure they can scrape together rent for a sleazy flat.

And thus, the loft is born.

It's really very convenient: Two-bedroom loft, two friends. They find some manageably miserable jobs and sort-of make enough to pay the bills.

Before long, Mark hears that Benny has graduated college. They meet for lunch and Roger takes a liking to him. They don't hesitate in asking him to move in with them.

And then there were three.

Since Benny pays more of the bills now then the other two combined, they think it's only fair that he gets a bed. Roger and Mark debate over who has to move, and Mark's black eye says that he's on couch duty.

Roger finds a new band: the Well Hungarians. He laughs at the name and takes a liking to the members, who are amiable and devoted. They like his style and offer to pay him in beer. How could be refuse?

Soon after, they meet another friend of Benny's: Tom Collins. Again, they immediately like him. Collins' morals and personality appeal to the boho boys. When he's kicked out of his apartment for protesting the inefficiency of the roofing system, he's invited to move in as well.

Collins likes his new home. His friends make him feel more welcome then he has in a long time. Ever since his awful HIV-related breakup with his last boyfriend, Collins had been feeling down. He hoped that this was a change for the better.

Mark attempts to assert his position on the couch, but Collins informs him that if he doesn't get his "skinny white ass off those cushions, [he] won't be a virgin for long." Mark thought of pointing out that he wasn't, in fact, a virgin (he had his high school girlfriend Nettie to thank for that) but decided that it was a useless argument and was swiftly demoted to floor.

And then there were four.

Roger's band breaks up, and he's in despair until he meets the girl of his dreams: April. She was a groupie at his band's farewell concert. She invites him to her place for dinner and implied sex, and he stays. Soon, they start going steady, and he's spending more time at her house then the loft. He discovers that she's a junkie, and suddenly he's barely home at all. Mark jumps on the opportunity and steals his bed.

And then there were three.

Mark is the next to meet someone. Maureen, Maureen, the drama queen. The group goes out for drinks at a club and meets her at the front door. She's intrigued by Mark and asks him to dance. Both of them are too drunk to be coordinated, but not drunk enough to find it funny. They fall in love anyway, and she invites herself to move in.

And then there were four.

April spends her rent money on smack, and she and Roger find themselves out on the street. He knows just where to go.

And then there were six.

Now nobody knows what to do about who sleeps where, and chaos ensues. When Benny ends up sharing the couch with Maureen one night, they realize something must be done to fix the situation. They find an old mattress and drag it up to the main room, and the dilemma seems to be solved. Maureen and Mark take one bed, Roger and April another, Benny the couch, and Collins the mattress. This works until Benny realizes he and Collins are the only ones with steady income, and thus, the only ones paying the rent and bills, and deserve a bed. Roger and April agree to take the old mattress, and a switch occurs. This system is effective until Benny discovers that Collins humps things in his sleep. They switch back, and everyone is satisfied.

Collins is offered a job at MIT. He thinks of refusing, but Mark and Roger talk him into taking it. He packs his bags and promises to return someday when he's rich. It's a tearful goodbye; they've become quite close.

And then there were five.

Not long after, it happens.

Mark is the one who finds her. He sees blood and water running out from under the locked door in the bathroom, and decides to investigate. He breaks opens the door, and life in the loft is turned upside-down.

And then there were four.

Benny becomes nervous. He doesn't like being in the loft with the stench of death hanging over it. He begins to disappear more and more when they need him around for support. He reacts by running away.

Maureen is also afraid. She's confused and angry that April and Roger are stealing her boyfriend's attention. One of them isn't even alive, after all. The drama queen turns the other cheek to the situation and finds comfort in others. She reacts by cheating.

Mark is sad and scared and angry and shocked and horrified. He can't believe that April would do something like this; she'd never seemed the type. But what does he know? He begins to feel useless and helpless. He starts talking a little less, and observing a little more. His camera becomes attached to his hand. He reacts by stepping back.

Roger is crushed and broken, but at the same time, it hits him like a slap to the face; a bucket of cold water being thrown at him after a hangover. He realizes the path his life is taking. He also realizes, more importantly, that he doesn't like it. He wants to become famous. He's Roger Davis, the rock star. Not Roger Davis, the loser junkie. He forms a plan: Get clean, fix life, write one-hit wonder. Now he just has to do it all before the little parting gift April left him sucks his life away. He reacts by waking up.

Benny meets someone. They don't know much about her. He says her name is Allison. Maureen dubs her Muffy. It sticks. He leaves.

And then there were three.

Roger wants to get clean. Mark agrees to help him. Maureen pretends not to listen.

Mark tries to win back his girlfriend, but she's hardened her heart to him. She wonders if he knows she's cheating. She gets the feeling he does, but she can't stop. She's gotten lost in herself.

Maureen sighs when she thinks about the guy she slept with the previous night. She can't remember his name or his hair color. She misses Mark, even if she did just talk to him.

Roger struggles with withdrawal. He wants a hit; he needs a hit. Why can't Mark just let him have a fucking hit? It's not like he asked for his help. Wait, did he? He can't remember. He just wants his smack.

Mark doesn't know what to do with his life anymore. He's trying to help Roger, but he's running out of ideas. He doesn't know if he can last much longer under the endless abuse. He begins to wonder if he should kill himself. Who would miss him? Collins and Benny have moved on. Maureen might as well be on another planet, even if they do share a bed every night. Then he remembers April. Doesn't Roger need him? And maybe he can win Maureen back yet. He decides to wait it out.

Benny comes for a visit. Maureen is seeing a movie with some friends (her code word for "fucking strangers in a dirty club bathroom"), Mark is lying on the couch trying to balance an ice pack on his face and bandage his shin at the same time, and Roger is asleep because he's wiped out after throwing things at Mark all afternoon.

Benny offers Mark lunch and free rent for life since he now owns the building. Mark could kiss him.

Benny is immediately worried. He tries not to show it; he gets the feeling neither Mark nor Roger want to deal with worried friends. He wishes he could do more to help, but he's afraid. He's finally got everything he's ever wanted. Right?

Maureen meets someone else. She wonders if she still loves Mark under the steel coat she put over her heart. She only knows she loves Joanne over it.

And then there were two.

Mark says goodbye to his last chance to win her back. Now he needs to find something to look forward to, and something to live for. He turns the camera over in his hands. Yeah, that'll work.

Roger slowly comes out of withdrawal hell. He looks back over everything he's put his friends through and doesn't want to face it. He turns his thoughts to the future instead and picks up his guitar. On to the next phase of his life plan: One-hit wonder.

Collins comes back. He brings Angel and sugar cereal.

And then there were four.

Mark sees Maureen and Joanne fight. It gives him some kind of sick satisfaction to see that they don't get along.

Roger meets Mimi. He doesn't want to let her in. His hormones make the decision for him, and soon they're an item.

Roger is nervous. After all, he has AIDS. Mimi is so jovial and full of life, and he doesn't want to bring her down. Unsure of what to do, he distances himself. He's teetering on the fence. Should he give in and devote himself to her? Or just hide away with his guitar until it's over?

Mimi is frustrated. Why is he so difficult? She knows he loves her, but he's so hesitant and aloof. She pours her heart out to him, and all he can do is stutter and leave.

Roger gives up. They both have AIDS, and they should enjoy life while they have it. No day but today. He moves down into her loft.

And then there were three.

Angel and Collins take what time and money they have left and go have some fun.

And then there was one.

Mark has never felt so alone. Now what can he do? He doesn't know the answer, so he decides to film stuff.

He really needs to find a better purpose in life. How long has it been since he's had a girlfriend?

Mimi is cheating on Roger. She knows she loves Roger more than he loves her, but tries to prove to herself that she doesn't by sleeping with Benny. But that accomplishes nothing accept for pissing off Muffy.

Angel dies.

Collins is crushed, but tries to bounce back. He says he knows that Angel wouldn't want him to be miserable over her. But he, Roger, and Mimi all are afraid. Who's next? Stupid, friend-stealing AIDS.

Mark was scared. He distanced himself some more. He knew deep down that it was wrong, but he didn't know how else to respond. He takes the job for Buzzline to stop the calls from Alexi. Maybe this will keep him going.

Roger leaves. He decides that the only way for him to fulfill his dream is to leave everything behind him and start over in Santa Fe. It doesn't work as well as he'd hoped. He can only think of Mimi and how much he loves her, and Mark and how much he misses him.

Mimi goes to rehab. She's sure it's the right thing to do. But after days of listening to people talk about their feelings and how much they want a hit and how Jesus helped them quit, she changes her mind. She doesn't want to be here. She wants to be with Roger. She leaves.

Collins stops by for a visit only to discover she's checked out. He calls the gang together and they go on a search. Mark returns to the loft after a long night of hunting to find a new message on the phone. He listens, hopeful for a sign of their runaway dancer. Instead, he discovers that Roger is on his way home.

Damn timing.

Mark quits Buzzline. He finishes his documentary.

Roger comes back and they hunt together.

They find Mimi. Almost losing her makes Roger realize he wants every second with her to last. He stops thinking about the tragedies of the future and begins thinking about the joys of the present.

Mark puts down his camera and takes slow, tottering steps back to reality until he's human again.

Collins moves on, but holds the memory of Angel in his heart forever.

Benny moves away. He calls occasionally when Muffy allows it. Mark still sort-of sees him as a friend. The others disagree.

Maureen and Joanne are trying. What more can they do?

And then they were home.


End file.
